Being a historical account of William Shakespeare's extraordinary connections with the most infamous terrorist plot in English history
William Shakespeare was one of the most subversive writers ever to have scaled the heights of genius. Working during one of the bleakest periods in British history, he consistently held up the governments of Elizabeth and James I to criticism.
At no time was the clash between Will's personal convictions and state policy greater than in the early years of the reign of King James, when the government’s policies led to an attempted act of terrorism which is remembered to this day.
Few people were closer to the root sources of the Gunpowder Plot. The conspiracy was hatched in his own backyard by men to whom he was related. At a time of great personal crisis, Will was caught in the midst of a national emergency which would see the followers of the old religion successfully branded as a sect of devils.
His most famous tragedies date from this period. Progressively, they reveal Will’s changing attitudes towards the King and his 'murdering ministers'. This is the story of Shakespeare’s life and career in the first decade of the seventeenth century, and of how the great literary champion of the downtrodden was transformed into an invisible figure, his urgent messages forgotten.